Learn About the Many Gemini Missions Video

Learn about the many Gemini spacecrafts mission to space. Also learn about the main objectives of the Gemini missions.Read the full transcript »

Learn About the Many Gemini Missions On the first eight-man space flights into space, the job of reentry was always left up to the command pilot. On the final two missions, the computer alone automatically controls the descent. With the pilot ready to take over should the need arise. On the first three-man flights, Gemini III through V landing accuracy was only 57 nautical miles from the planned impact point. This distance soon improved. When Gemini VI and VIII landed, it was within the seven nautical miles of the planned impact point. Gemini VIII despite an orbital abort landed within 1.1 nautical miles of the planned secondary impact point. Although it came down 8000 miles away from the primary target area, it achieved the second best landing accuracy ever recorded. Tom Stafford shaped that distance to four tenths of a mile in Gemini 9a establishing a remarkable record. Of all the average missed distance for the last seven flights was 3.6 nautical miles. Statistics such as this were vital in planning the Luna missions. The course was returned from the moon at around 25,000 miles an hour to land safely within a 3300-mile footprint they needed to hit a reentry corridor within 2o of the planned flight path. Space walks too have improved over time. This 22-minute work during the Gemini premise went smoothly without too much disorientation felt by the astronaut but it was hardly graceful by today’s standards. Four additional EVA flights were flown as Gemini progressed from relatively uncomplicated space walking to meaningful space work by an EVA pilot. On three flights, Gemini IX-A, X and XI, the pilot faced problems of body control in work load. Two ounces of above and knew underwater training program for cruise and the increase used of body restraints during walk sessions. Astronauts Cernan had nine pieces of body restraint equipment during his Gemini IX-A flight. The space agency progressively developed and refined restrained equipment to 44 pieces while flying on with Gemini XII. Underwater simulation of zero gravity conditions was also added to the training schedule of both the prime and backup crews of Gemini XII. This gave them a greater continuity of training that is possible in the parabola of aircraft flight. Buzz Aldrin put to work the experience gained from full flights and underwater training. He completed 19 tasks in a two-hour and 19-minute EVA. He performs such fundamental space work as activating an experiment, tightening and loosening bolts within Apollo torque wrench making electrical connections and cleaning up his work area. In all, Gemini amassed 12 hours and 22 minutes of EVA experience. It included space walking, standup EVA for photography and space work. Gemini EVA gave us the assurance that man can work and explore in the vacuum of space whether he be on the moon or on orbiting space stations. By the time, the Apollo missions were ready for launch a trained staff of highly experienced mission controllers was already in place too. Well thanks to the earlier Gemini flights. The original Cape Kennedy staff were responsible for no less than 12 successful Gemini missions. In addition, they demonstrated a jewel launch capability while four types of vehicles and one augmented target docking adaptor were launched successfully. Recovery personnel from the Department of Defense in NASA reduced the number of recovery ships by 50% between Gemini IV and Gemini and XII. At the same time, they increased spacecraft retrieval efficiency by 50%. The record of the flight crew is of course better known. By the time, the last spacecraft splash down, Gemini have log 1940 man hours, almost 40 times as great as Mercury. Over 2400 synoptic and terrain photographs were taken, 2000 of these supplied useful information to scientists. The old mapping potential of man flights is best illustrated by the Gemini IX-A flight over Peru. In one task, Gemini IX-A mapped 80% of the country and it took just three minutest. These photographs

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